Personal Trainers

**blanket** · 03-09-2003, 08:54 PM

hey guys,
My name is Omid. I'm 21yo, and studying Fitness Leadership at the Seneca collage of Toronto.
Im going to get my diploma in 1 year and then im gonna start my career as a personal trainer. I've heard that personal trainers make $30 to $100 an houre, (avrage $30 to $35) but Im not sure of that, at Extreme Fitness, the gym where I go to they(the gym) charges you 70 dollars an houre but the trainers only get $15 to $25 of it. I was wondering if theres anyone who could give me a little more information about this.( It doesn't matter what country the information is for cuz im willing to move to another country as long as they speak english)

**yellows2k** · 03-09-2003, 09:21 PM

I could take some lousy exam that cost me 200 bucks and pass it and become a personal trainer.....

But yeah, they make shitty money. It's not worth it for me, to work my ass off and help people and stuff, but most of them just give up anyway.

If you become a personal trainer for an athlete thats where some real money is, but thats very difficult.

**Warrior** · 03-09-2003, 09:31 PM

Yeah - IMO - your best bet, unless you are capable of putting forth the dedication to start and maintain your own business as a personal trainer is to get started in a sports area... use your degree in Fitness Leadership to become a strength/conditioning coach for college ball or something... get the resume out to all the colleges you would like to work for.

You have to do some resaerch on options other than a personal trainer at some chain gym if you really want to make some $$$ out of your degree. Like yellows2k said - most of these people have pretty basic certs - not college level education. And I am unsure what type of degree you have but you may want to continue on to a Masters or Doctorate to really get in good with the industry. From my understanding, Md's are normally hired to train Olympic level competitors and professional athletes...

**zzo18** · 03-09-2003, 10:28 PM

I worked as a personal trainer for 2 years at an upscale health club...thinking I'd make more there. A single personal training session cost $70, I got $18 of that...it sucked! On top of that, I had to work around my clients' schedules. For example, I may have a session at 6:30, another at 11:00, one at 3:00, and one at 6:00. In other words, there was a lot of time spend standing around. Like yellows & Warrior said, its best to gain an advantage by getting an advanced degree and hopefully getting a better paying gig.
-zzo

**rob35145** · 03-10-2003, 10:03 AM

Blanket,

Just like any other profession you can make money in personal training, if you treat it like a business. I wouldn't go to the local gym to try to make money; they don’t pay you what you’re worth. There are a lot of unqualified trainers because anyone who thinks they know fitness can become a trainer. Just like the post above said anyone can take a $200 test and then call himself or herself a “fitness professional”. I've been a trainer for over 10 years, have a degree in exercise science, certified CSCS, CPT, and make a pretty good living. The best advice I can give is go to a country club or somewhere similar. One thing that I’ve done that really helps make some money is in-home training (you go to them). You can get a lot of tax benefits because you are literally running a business out of your house. Corporate fitness is another area that pays well, if you’re a director. I wouldn’t do the strength coach because they don’t pay either, unless you’re the head coach. Most only make in the high 20’s to low 30’s, not worth the headache. If you have any questions PM me and I’ll help you out.

**wrstlr69sdnl** · 03-10-2003, 10:24 PM

the ones over here cost to much and all they really did was try and sell me sups. that I didnt need and the tequnices are really basic i am actually thinking of becomeing a personal trainner (Go figure) sience I like working out mine as well make some money while i work out